Book Description

Greatly expanding on his blockbuster 1421, distinguished historian Gavin Menzies uncovers the complete untold history of how mankind came to the Americas—offering new revelations and a radical rethinking of the accepted historical record in Who Discovered America?

The iconoclastic historian’s magnum opus, Who Discovered America? calls into question our understanding of how the American continents were settled, shedding new light on the well-known “discoveries” of European explorers, including Christopher Columbus. In Who Discovered America? he combines meticulous research and an adventurer’s spirit to reveal astounding new evidence of an ancient Asian seagoing tradition—most notably the Chinese—that dates as far back as 130,000 years ago.

Menzies offers a revolutionary new alternative to the “Beringia” theory of how humans crossed a land bridge connecting Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, and provides a wealth of staggering claims, that hold fascinating and astonishing implications for the history of mankind.

Greatly expanding on his blockbuster 1421, distinguished historian Gavin Menzies uncovers the complete untold history of how mankind came to the Americas—offering new revelations and a radical rethinking of the accepted historical record in Who Discovered America?

The iconoclastic historian’s magnum opus, Who Discovered America? calls into question our understanding of how the American continents were settled, shedding new light on the well-known “discoveries” of European explorers, including Christopher Columbus. In Who Discovered America? he combines meticulous research and an adventurer’s spirit to reveal astounding new evidence of an ancient Asian seagoing tradition—most notably the Chinese—that dates as far back as 130,000 years ago.

Menzies offers a revolutionary new alternative to the “Beringia” theory of how humans crossed a land bridge connecting Asia and North America during the last Ice Age, and provides a wealth of staggering claims, that hold fascinating and astonishing implications for the history of mankind.

Product Description

From the Back Cover

A groundbreaking new book that upends our understanding of ancient America

Conventional history tells us humans migrated on foot across present-day Alaska, populating the Americas far later than other continents.

However, emerging new evidence suggests seafarers reached the continents thousands of years earlier and developed far more sophisticated civilizations than previously imagined. . . .

From "distinguished historian" (BBC World Service) Gavin Menzies, the author of the blockbuster New York Times bestseller 1421, comes a revolutionary new account of how the first humans came to North and South America. Menzies reveals that ancient peoples used the oceans' natural currents and prevailing winds to make voyages across both the Atlantic and Pacific. What's more, we now must accept that they had time to develop remarkably advanced cultures. Armed with cutting-edge DNA evidence, newly unearthed artifacts, and astonishing linguistic and archaeological discoveries, Menzies shows

humans have been making transoceanic voyages as far back as 100,000 years ago, vastly predating the supposed overland migration to the Americas during the last Ice Age;

the ancient South American civilizations of the Olmec and Maya in Central and South America may have had direct origins and influences from Asia;

ancient maps held in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., show there must have been sustained and dedicated voyages to the Western Hemisphere by Chinese explorers as early as 2200 B.C.;

Japanese, Korean, and even earlier European voyages likewise predated the explorations currently recorded by history.

A maverick scholar, Menzies has made a riveting new contribution to the story of humanity's earliest explorers, revealing the truth behind one of history's most fascinating questions: Who discovered America?

About the Author

Gavin Menzies is the bestselling author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America; 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance; and The Lost Empire of Atlantis: History's Greatest Mystery Revealed. He served in the Royal Navy between 1953 and 1970. His knowledge of seafaring and navigation sparked his interest in the epic voyages of Chinese admiral Zheng He. Menzies lives in London.

Ian Hudson was educated at Eton College and the University of Bristol. He started working with Gavin Menzies in 2002 and has been involved with all of his book projects since the publication of 1421. Ian established the website www.gavinmenzies.net and has managed the research team in London since then. He divides his time between London and his farm in Melchbourne, Bedfordshire.

Having received this book for Christmas I have been inspired to finally review something on the internet.A most excellent read and well researched book that really makes you think. Not being an historian I can now hold court convincingly on this controversial topic - which is a great result from a few hours peaceful reading by the fire. Good work Messrs' Menzies and Hudson, I am off to purchase the rest of the series now.

I have enjoyed Gavin Menzies' previous books and this one did not disappoint either. In this book Gavin sums up conclusions and hypotheses he's come to about areas of the Americas that he feels have been influenced by or even settled by early Asian explorers. There is a melancholy in this work because he indicates this may be his last book.

I don't know if all of his assumptions are true, and he himself is very clear about the fact that he would welcome more research. But Menzies is no Von Daniken, he is inviting us to think beyond the Eurocentric acount of world history that many of us have grown up with and I applaud him for it.

I can also see how irritating this can be to academic historians who have to be so careful not to trash their own reputations and risk their funding by saying anything controversial, but that is not Gavin Menzies' problem, it is a problem that pervades the world of academia.

Mr Menzies invites us to think outside of the box of established world history and I hope others will follow in his footsteps.

Once in a lifetime, you find a book that establishes a new guideline for generations to come. This is it! The new bestseller, from the British team of Gavin Menzies and Ian Hudson finally gets it right. Who Discovered America? is a synthesis of the latest investigations by Menzies and Hudson after visiting American museums and archeological sites - and after interviewing cutting-edge scientists in such diverse fields as genetic research, cartography, plant biology, epidemiology, and marine archeology. The broad-based scientific foundation for this book is beyond reproach. Nevertheless, Menzies and Hudson do not claim to have written the last word on the subject of New World voyages before Columbus. They acknowledge that even more discoveries are yet to come. Everyone can be a part of this thrilling adventure. Menzies and Hudson invite readers to participate in the unfolding drama of rewriting the real history of world exploration by inquiring into a host of websites, books, and the current research of experts in many fields. Only Gavin Menzies and Ian Hudson have developed the kind of interactive web site where this synthesis of new ideas and widespread participation can actually happen - on a global basis. Professional historians tend to shelter themselves in little cubby-holes of specializations in obscure fields of study that totally miss the Big Picture. Not Menzies and Hudson! The vital importance of Menzies' original book, 1421 - The Year China Discovered America (Bantam, 2002), is underscored by the fact that a Beijing map collector, Liu Gang, realized that a Ming Map he had purchased from a Shanghai antique dealer was a World Heritage Treasure. Liu Gang came to this conclusion only after reading Menzies' book. Subsequently, tens of thousands of curious readers (and many expert scientists) offered contributions and ideas by using the interactive web site created by Team 1421. Those scholars who have criticized Menzies' early theories haven't considered the fact that the British author has always regarded his explorations as "a work in progress." Unlike many "certified" academics who seem to believe they already know "everything," Menzies is open to considering new evidence and new interpretations that are offered by his growing list of associates. His frequent consultants include many university professors and leading scientific experts from across the globe. A decade ago, Menzies began his odyssey of global research when he realized that the Eurocentric history discounted the role played by the Ming Chinese in New World exploration, mapping, and settlement before Columbus. Since then, his research team has identified maps by ancient Chinese explorers dating to the 3rd millennium BC, maps of America's West Coast by Yuan Dynasty survey teams (including Marco Polo as an eyewitness), and two Ming Dynasty Maps showing both North and South America prior to the voyage by Columbus. The authenticity of these documents has been confirmed by lengthy linguistic examination, cartographic analysis, and radiocarbon dating. Let there be no mistake: shorelines that Europeans supposedly "discovered" were already "on the map" before Columbus sailed. Mercator even confirmed that he had seen "a Chinese map and a Marco Polo chart." In other words, the Chinese not only mapped American shores, their maps were used by European explorers for their own "discoveries." You will enjoy this engaging adventure into America's dynamic cavalcade of exploration and discovery. It is presented by two talented tour guides who make real science seem fascinating and alive. This is a fundamental Paradigm Shift for the fields of history, anthropology, and geography; and you can become part of the action. Fasten your seatbelts for the historical rollercoaster ride of the century.Read more ›

Menzies and Hudson have clearly done their homework this time to come up with a very thought-provoking piece.They should both be commended for their ground breaking work and continued discovery of more fascinating evidence that could prove history wrong.

Every so often books like 'Who Discovered America' come along and remind us that history is far from set in stone, that it is a living narrative in a constant state of evolution.

Gavin Menzies and Ian Hudson deserve to be hugely commended on the tireless effort they have clearly put into researching a book that will no doubt go down as a seminal work in revitalising one of the most fascinating debates of ancient American history.

Gavin Menzies has done it again.......we always felt the Vikings and maybe the irish had visited the US before Christofer C he then proves the Chinese were earlier and now the Minoans 2000 years earlier.-.tremendous , I hope more and more proof emerges as it makes sense to me.